Atlanta, GA, December 11, 2008 â€“ In response to recent shifts in market demand, Surf Expo announced today it is moving the dates of its September 2009 show to August 20-22, 2009. The show will remain in the Orange County Convention Center.

Historically, Surf Expo has been held the third weekend of September but was changed in 2001 to September 24-26 to avoid an overlap with Rosh Hashanah. At that time, the later dates worked well for industry partners SIMA, WSIA and the AWIA, as well as key exhibitors and retailers. With the changes over recent years in manufacturersâ€™ line breaks though, most of the industriesâ€™ large retailers are now finished with orders by the second week of September. As a result, Surf Expoâ€™s dates in August will better serve both the manufacturers and the retailers.

â€œSurf Expo has always been the industryâ€™s business-first trade show,â€ explained Lori Kisner, senior vice president of dmg world media. â€œDuring our 33-year history, we have always responded to emerging trends and shifts in the way business is conducted. Retailers now must juggle far more in-store rep visits and dealer meetings in August than theyâ€™d like. Moving our show so it better coincides with line breaks and the primary buying season will go a long way in alleviating this problem.â€

Response from the showâ€™s industry partners has been overwhelmingly positive.

â€œSIMA supports Surf Expoâ€™s move to August 2009,â€ said Joel Cooper, chairman of SIMAâ€™s Trade Show Committee. â€œThe late September dates are not in the best interests of manufacturers or retailers. While we certainly understand the concern about shipping booths cross-country multiple times, the savings seen from not having to expedite shipping and from a Monday break-down will help off-set additional expenses.â€

â€œThe Board Retailers Association understands and supports the need for an August Surf Expo,â€ says Board Retailers Association Executive Director Melissa Clary. â€œNow more than ever our specialty stores need a concentrated, business-first venue to write orders. Moving the show to coincide more closely with the peak of the order-writing time period will free up valuable time and keep in-store distractions to a minimum.â€

â€œWhile moving the show to August could initially create a schedule conflict for some of our members, we know that Surf Expo has researched every alternative to meet the overall industriesâ€™ needs,â€ commented Larry Meddock, WSIA executive director. â€œWe support the move.â€

â€œAs windsports continues to be a more integrated part of the overall boardsports community, having one central marketplace for our industry becomes even more vital, summarized Katie Crafts, co-director of AWSI. â€œWe are pleased to be a part of Surf Expo and look forward to continuing to work with show in the future.â€

The August 2009 Surf Expo will run Thursday through Saturday, August 20-22. Exhibit information for the show, including freight and materials handling, move-in and move-out, and labor options, will be available at surfexpo.com after the January show (January 14-17). Retailer pre-registration and hotel reservation service will be available online beginning February 1.